A top United Nations official says although Sri Lanka lately has taken decisions that open the possibility of important progress in the protection of rights of all citizens, most of the work necessary to redress violations and abuses, however, is still to be done.

UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Pablo de Greiff during his visit, met with high-level Government officials at central and provincial levels, members of the judiciary, civil society organizations, political parties, religious leaders, and victims.

He also travelled to both the North and the Eastern Provinces, including Batticaloa, Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya.

In his report, the Special Rapporteur noted that in the past, Sri Lanka has established too many commissions to inquire violations.

While some of these produced useful reports, including wide-ranging recommendations, others have failed or inadequate and did not contribute to any resolution creating a loss of public confidence in the mechanisms.

Commenting on Sri Lanka's reconciliation process, the UN official emphasized that there are no 'shortcuts' to reconciliation.

The UN official stressed that it is imperative for Sri Lanka to take some immediate action to demonstrate its commitment to redressing past violations.

The UN official said “If handled well, the case of Sri Lanka has the potential to constitute an example for the region and for the world of how a sustainable peace ought to be achieved,"